


WAKE UP

by awkwardkermitfrog



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Creepy, Gen, Unsettling, wake up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 01:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12097941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardkermitfrog/pseuds/awkwardkermitfrog
Summary: -





	WAKE UP

Link groaned as he saw rain began to splatter his windshield. Driving at night already made him a little bit nervous, even after all these years, but now he also had to figure out how to maintain visibility with this going on? It was a simple errand, picking up pizza for his family, but Link felt the weight of the day dragging him down. He’d been awake since 6:00am, and the bright clock light blazing 9:34pm in his peripheral vision made him reconsider his earlier choice to only have one cup of coffee. He ran his left hand through his hair and put it back on the steering wheel with a little thump, reaching his right hand to change the radio station. 

“Stupid weather.” He muttered, the windshield wipers now at full speed. “Gonna be drenched when I get inside.” His ears perked as he heard his phone’s ringtone. He fished it out of his pocket with his right hand and glanced down to see Christy’s picture against the background, smiling warmly. 

“Worry wart.” He smiled. Link glanced down to press the answer button. Just as he touched the little green phone symbol, there was a honking sound and a blinding flash of light. Metal crunched and Link found himself slammed forward -

 

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.  _

Link turned groggily in his bed, alert and confused, slowly realizing where he was: in his own bed. He looked over to see the spot beside him was slept in, but empty, indicating that Christy was already awake.

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. _

He reached out and slammed his hand onto the alarm clock, shouting that it was 6:00am. Time to start the day. He fiddled with it until the alarm stopped beeping and stretched, reflecting on his dream. It had been very realistic for a dream, and he didn’t feel rested at all. He shook his head and reached for his glasses, climbing out of the bed and making his way to the bathroom. 

  
  


“Hey guys.” Link said cheerfully as he looked at his three kids at the kitchen table, each eating a different cereal for breakfast. A man was speaking, presumably from a television, giving the daily weather forecast. He made his way over to Christy who was next to the coffee maker and gave her a peck on the cheek before getting a mug out of the cabinet behind her. “Whatcha listening to?”

“The radio.” Lily answered, before putting another spoonful of Lucky Charms in her mouth. 

Link got out the coffee pot and began to pour it into the mug, taking a moment to listen to the weather that day.

“We’re looking at a sunny day here in Burbank, aren’t we Jim?”

“Yes indeed, it sure appears that way. Are you all ready to wake up and smell the coffee?”

“I sure am, I sure am ready to wake up.”

Link turned to the fridge and removed some coffee creamer, pouring the peppermint flavored stuff into his sludge.

“I think it’s about time for everyone in Burbank to wake up and face the day. Up next we’ll have the traffic report…” 

Link reached into another cabinet and got out a box of frosted mini wheats, pouring it into a blue bowl. “Good thing it’s sunny. I don’t really want it to rain today.”

“Yeah, I was hoping we could go to the park and get outside a bit.” Christy put her empty mug down on the kitchen counter and turned to the kids. “You guys spend too much time inside as it is.” 

“No we don’t.” Lando mumbled, playing with the spoon in his bowl before letting its handle drop to the side. “We need to wake up and go to a pool or something.”

“What was that?” Link asked, his eyebrows raised. “Why do you need to wake up? You’re already up, buddy.”

“I didn’t say that.” Lando stirred his cereal again. “I said we need to eat up.” 

“Right, buddy.” Link took a sip of his coffee and reached into the fridge for some milk. “Right. Sorry.”

  
  


“Ready to shoot?” Rhett asked, stepping into the doorway of their shared office. 

“Yeah, gimme a sec. I’ve just been really tired today.” Link yawned and stretched his arms out, turning his neck from side to side to pop it. “I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe I should have more coffee.”

“That’ll wake you up, I’m sure.” Rhett said, smiling at him. He drummed his fingers on the doorway and waited as Link stood up and crossed over to him before walking with him down the hallway to the studio stage. 

“What’s today’s premise?” Link asked, still stretching his stiff muscles.

“Best ways to wake up in the morning. Something you could use.” Rhett opened the door to the studio and waited as Link crossed through it. 

“Yeah… I could, I guess.” Link agreed. He sat down on his side of the desk and looked at the mug set in front of him. He picked it up and saw that underneath it was a sticky note. “That’s weird.”

“Probably a prank by Chase or something.” Rhett mused, sitting next to Link. “What’s it say?”

“Wake up.” Link turned the note over in his hand, scowling slightly. He crumpled it and put it in the trash can next to him. 

“Alright guys, we ready to shoot?” Stevie asked them both, standing behind the cameras, ready to direct the episode. 

“Let’s do it.” Rhett grinned back at her.

“Oh Link, don’t forget to wake up.” Stevie added as she turned to the cameraman. 

“What?” 

“I said don’t forget it’s about ways to wake up.” Stevie said sternly. “You’ve been really out of it lately.”

“Right.” Link nodded. “Right.”

“Alright and we’re rolling in ten… nine…”

  
  


The episode went smoothly as it ever did, with little mishaps here and there that the viewers would love. Rhett and Link kept up the witty banter throughout the show, displaying different alarm clocks and testing them as best they could. Link couldn’t help and look at his mythical mug and wish for coffee, wondering how tired he looked on camera. He smiled and laughed and acted appropriately as ever but he couldn’t help feeling a little off. There was something about the lights that was dreamlike to him in a way it hadn’t been the day before. Rhett’s eyes were a more distinct green than he had remembered them being his whole life, and he had a hard time not staring at his costar. Chase seemed brighter and more bubbly than usual, giving off the air that he was completely care free, which was somewhat unlike him. Chase was mild mannered, but he did care about the show. It was as if everyone in the office was in on some big joke and he wasn’t.

When they were done filming More, Link turned to Rhett and grinned.

“What?” Rhett laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re actually gonna buy any of these clocks.”

“No. Well, maybe.” Link smirked and stood up. “I figured out why everyone’s acting so weird. You guys are gonna throw me a birthday party.”

Rhett frowned and stood up, looking down on the smaller man with an expression of distaste. 

“Admit it! Things have been kind of off today, and that’s why.” Link let out a slow laugh and waggled his eyebrows. “Ha!”

“Well, Link, you got me. Only you’re kind of late.” Rhett scratched his arm and watched as Link’s joyful expression faded. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“We threw you a party last week.” Rhett’s voice was full of contempt. “Can’t believe you don’t remember that.” He turned and started to walk away.

“What - I turned forty?” Link’s mouth was agape with shock. “And I didn’t know it?”

“You need to wake up, Link.” Rhett called over his shoulder as he stepped out of the filming area. 

“I am awake!” Link shouted back to him. The door shut behind Rhett before the words got out of Link’s mouth. He looked around the studio area, full of confusion, his face flush with embarrassment. He noticed something then that he hadn’t noticed before - everything seemed shinier, brighter, like it had been newly polished. He reached out to the electric guitar on the wall and plucked a couple of strings, the lifeless instrument responding with gentle twangs. He tapped his fingers along the pictures. All the smiles were brighter, all the paint was new. He sat back down in his usual chair behind the desk and took off his glasses, inspecting them. They were black and looked just like his day glasses. He couldn’t help but wonder, though, if they were a little too clear. He shook his head and brushed it off, putting the glasses back on and exiting the studio, looking around himself curiously as he did so. 

  
  


“Hey guys.” Link called out to his family as he entered their home, setting his bag with his work laptop on the floor. From a room somewhere in the house he could hear the sounds of his kids arguing about something, but he wasn’t sure what. He walked across the living room and up the staircase, searching for the source. He stopped outside of the bedroom that Lando and Lincoln shared to hear Lily speaking in a calm, rational tone about something.

“We can’t tell dad that. Not yet.”

“Why not?” Lincoln’s voice was agitated, upset, and Link could almost see him twist his hands in frustration. “He needs to know.”

“Mom said he has to figure it out on his own.” Lily was staying calm, but she sounded forlorn. 

“Why?” Lando, the youngest, had the smallest voice in the room. Link felt strange standing here outside of his son’s room, but he also felt like there was something he needed to know, something he couldn’t put his finger on. It was like being back in the studio where everything had been just a little bit different than it normally was. Something off. Something odd.

“I don’t know. That’s what mom said.” Lily said authoritatively. 

Link stood there for a moment as they continued their discussion before turning around and heading back down the stairs. Most days he didn’t feel like drinking, but today he couldn’t help but crave a cold beer. He wandered into the kitchen, searching for something to soothe his nerves. It had just been a bad day. That’s what he kept telling himself. Just a bad day. 

“Hey honey.” Christy’s voice came from the back door as she stepped through it into the kitchen, sliding the glass shut. “How was work?”

“Oh, same old.” Link shrugged as he reached back into the back of the refrigerator and pulled out a Heineken. “It’s been a weird day.” 

“How’s that?” Link watched as his wife sat down at the kitchen table and began to sort through that day’s pile of mail.

“Well, just, I don’t really know.” Link shrugged and popped the top of the beer, taking a long slow sip. “It’s hard to explain.”

“Try me.” 

Link huffed a sigh and sat down across from his wife. He looked at her, really looked, trying to see if there were differences in her features, the way there had been in Rhett’s eyes. She did look more vibrant than usual. A few of the wrinkles around her eyes were gone. Other than that, though, she looked like the woman he’d married. He took another swig of beer and set it on the table in front of him, his fingers peeling the label, an old nervous habit. 

“It feels like today’s been kind of a really realistic dream.” Link looked up at his wife, who was looking at him with an interested but concerned expression. “Does that make any sense?”

“It does a little. Sometimes my dreams feel very real, but then I wake up and they weren’t.” Christy pulled out a letter and handed it to Link. “This is for you, by the way.”

“Thanks.” Link took the letter from her and tapped it on the table. “Do you want any help with dinner?”

“I started a crock pot early in the day. There wouldn’t be anything for you to help with.” Christy got up and patted Link on the shoulder before moving towards the stairs. “Maybe we can get Lando to set the table.” 

“Maybe.” Link stared down at the envelope in his hands. It had no return address, and the address on the front was hand written. He was about to open it when Lando came in and asked for help setting the table. 

  
  


“It’s another sunny day in Burbank California, and a great time to wake up and start the day!”

“Yes it is Jim, another sunny day and a great time to wake up!”

Link rolled over in his bed and felt for the alarm clock as the two radio hosts continued to jabber on about how great of a morning it was. Link couldn’t care less how great of a morning it was. He let out a low moan of exhaustion as he turned off the alarm, wondering when one of them had set it to be a radio alarm instead of the regular, incessant beeping. He sat up, shaking his muscles free of sleep, and reached for his glasses. Looking beside him, he saw that Christy was already up and out of bed. 

“Probably making the kid’s breakfasts or something.” He muttered, walking over to the bathroom. He groggily flicked on the lights and looked at himself in the mirror, only to see in red lipstick two words written on the mirror.

**WAKE UP.**

“I am gonna kill one of those kids.” Link muttered angrily, reaching out and smearing the lipstick with his finger. 

  
  


“Hey guys, can we talk real quick?” 

Lando, Lincoln, Lily, and Christy all looked at Link as he walked into the kitchen, noticing his visible agitation. Though he had calmed down after taking a shower, he was still very much annoyed. Link waited and looked at each of his children in turn, and they each nodded. 

“I need to know which one of you wrote on the bathroom mirror. You’re not in trouble, I just need to know who did it.” 

“Someone wrote on the bathroom mirror?” Christy asked, looking a little stunned. 

“Yeah. With your lipstick.” He crossed his arms and waited as he looked at each of them, waiting for a response. Lily looked down at her cereal. Lincoln looked back at his father and shrugged. Lando looked at his hands and, after a minute, raised his right hand, before sheepishly looking up at his father.

Link sighed and sat down. “Buddy, you can’t be writing on the mirror like that. It’s really hard to get off and your mom’s lipstick isn’t cheap.” 

“I’m sorry. I had to.” Lando said quietly, turning his toast over on his plate. “Mom says you’re supposed to figure it out but I had to say something.” 

“That’s enough, honey.” Christy cut in before Link could say what he was thinking. “I’ll be able to clean the mirror, but don’t do it again. Alright?” 

Lando nodded, leaving Link feeling more confused than before. “Christy, may I talk to you?”

“We’re doing a homeschool field trip today with some other moms and we’re running a little late.” Christy replied, setting her mug on the kitchen table. “Can we talk tonight?”

“I really think we should talk now.” 

“No.” Christy said firmly, louder than before. Link looked from Christy to his kids. Lando looked on the verge of tears. Lily shot him a look and he bit his lip, looking down at the ground now. Link looked back at his wife, who was crossing her arms. He didn’t want to have a confrontation at breakfast, but he needed to talk to her. He shook his head. Later. “Alright. Have a good day, guys.” He walked out of the kitchen and began to gather his things to leave. Just before he was about to go, he noticed the envelope that Christy had given him the night before, and put it into the pocket in his bag.

  
  


Link walked into the studio nonchalantly, looking around him curiously, looking to see if today was going to be like yesterday. 

“Hey, how’s it going?” Chase asked, his voice full of cheer, his smile wide. Link gave him a thumbs up, not used to seeing Chase come out of his shell with his antics like this. 

“Hey boss man.” Lizzie said as she gave him finger guns and walked on down another hallway to her own office. Link only nodded, noticing that Lizzie looked brighter than usual. Just like his wife had yesterday. 

“Hey Link. Hope you’re awake today!” Stevie called from her office as he walked by. 

“Uh.. yeah.” Link replied, giving a crooked smile. “I’m awake.” 

“That’s good because you really need to wake up, you know?” Stevie gestured to her own coffee mug. “Coffee will do you right up.”

“Right.” Link backed away from the door, the sensation that something was wrong stronger than it had been yesterday. He went down the hall a little ways and turned left into the door that led to the office he shared with Rhett. Sitting down and setting his bag beside him, Link booted up his computer and waited for the login screen. There was a flash of an image across the screen, something Link couldn’t read, though he had a feeling he knew what it said.

“Hey brother.” Rhett greeted Link as he walked over to his own computer station. “I was thinking today would be a good day to work on a script.”

“Yeah, that could be good.” Link nodded back at him. He was grateful that Rhett had not said hello by saying something about waking up. He typed his password into his account and waited as it logged into the system. 

“You ready to wake up?”

“What?” Link asked, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you’re ready to wake up.”

Link stood up and backed out of his chair, shaking slightly. “I’m running down to the break room.” He didn’t wait for Rhett’s response before turning and going down the hall. 

“Hey.” He gestured vaguely to Mike, who was sitting on a couch in the breakroom, drinking coffee. He turned away from him, his breath fast, not wanting Mike to know that he felt like he was on the verge of an anxiety attack.

“Hey Link.” Mike answered. “Great day to wake up, isn’t it?” 

Link didn’t answer and ran out of the room, bolting for the doorway to the outside. He slammed it open and began to walk very quickly down the alleyway that was behind their studio, running his hands through his hair. 

“This is not a dream.” He told himself, his breathing fast, his heart racing. “You are freaking out over nothing.” Two days in a row of this? “Why is everyone talking about waking up?” Link kicked the dirt and looked at the fence across from him, which was always covered in graffiti. Looking at the wildness of the street art always made him feel more at ease for some reason; something about finding order in chaos. He searched the random scribbles and overlapping drawings, trying to find the order he usually found hidden in it all, but was at a loss. He turned around, walking back to the studio, forcing himself to be calmer. He didn’t noticed that in red letters at the bottom of the fence were two red words freshly painted: 

**WAKE UP.**

  
  
  


“Hey Link.” Rhett waved vaguely as Link reentered their office. He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow with concern upon seeing Link’s disheveled hair. “You alright? It’s a bit early in the day to be falling apart.”

“I don’t know, man.” Link didn’t sit down; instead he took little paces back and forth. “I think I need to talk to someone.”

“Okay…” Rhett gestured for Link to sit down. Instead, Link walked over to the door and closed it, returning to pace in his little circles. 

“I think someone’s trying to tell me something.” Link shook his head and put his hand to his temple. “Or maybe I’m just noticing the same thing over and over, but something doesn’t feel right.” He looked at Rhett, kneeled down and really looked at him. “Like your eyes. They were never that bright before. Were they?”

“What are you talking about?” Link shook his head again at Rhett’s voice, trying to find the words to explain what he was seeing, what he was hearing. He looked down at his computer monitor. “Aha!” He grabbed the sticky note and held it up to Rhett. “What does that say?”

“‘Wake up’.” Rhett took the note from Link and turned it over. “Kind of a weird note to leave for yourself. Is this a reminder to get coffee?”

“No, that’s the thing!” Link turned away and continued to pace in small circles, the rubber soles of his sneakers making small pats on the tile floor. “This is going to sound crazy, but I’ve been seeing that everywhere?”

“You’ve been seeing sticky notes that say ‘wake up’ everywhere.” Rhett turned the note over in his hand again, looking confused. “That doesn’t seem like a bad thing. Just kind of weird.”

“You don’t get it, it’s like…” Link snapped his fingers in frustration. He ran his hands through his hair and looked back at Rhett, whose eyebrows were raised with concern. He turned back to the wall and began to move picture frames and look closely at the wood, the paint, looking for some sign that he wasn’t losing his mind.

“Link, what are you doing?” 

“Looking for evidence, looking for something to show you what I’m trying to say.” Link scratched at the paint with his fingernails, little scratches, trying to see if something was underneath.

“I think you need to take a minute and calm down.” Rhett said gently. 

“No, I can’t do that yet.” Link turned to Rhett and gestured to the wall. “You wanted it red. I wanted it green. We compromised and got blue. What color is this wall?”

“Green.” Rhett was standing now, walking slowly towards Link, as if he might blow a fuse. “It’s always been green. We agreed on green.”

“That’s the thing, though, we didn’t!” Link tapped on the wall with his knuckles. “We didn’t agree, that’s the whole point I’m trying to make!”

Rhett looked around Link and to the wall. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “I’m still not sure what you’re trying to say.”

“Something is wrong with this office.” Link walked around Rhett and over to his desk, shuffling through papers, throwing notebooks on the ground. 

“Do you mean we need to talk about letting someone go?” Rhett’s confusion was beginning to frustrated Link, and he threw a notebook at him in response. 

“It’s not just the office.” Link opened up a notebook and slammed it on his desk. “There it is again! I haven’t used this notebook in months, I don’t even remember what it was for. There it is - that ‘wake up’! It’s everywhere!” He sat down in his chair, looking up at Rhett hopelessly. “I feel like I’m losing my mind.” He said weakly. Defeated, Link felt a tear roll down his chin. “My wife doesn’t feel like my wife. My children are scared. You don’t - you don’t look like you. And everyone keeps saying it over and over. ‘Wake up. Wake up.’ Even the radio hosts in the morning. ‘Wake up.’ Stevie, ‘wake up’. On my bathroom mirror this morning. ‘Wake up.’” He sniffed, taking off his glasses, watching as Rhett kneeled in front of him. “I don’t know what to do, man.” 

He looked up at Rhett, who responded by taking Link’s hands into his own. For a moment, Rhett simply looked at him, a sorrow on his face that was deeper than words could express. He pressed his temple onto their hands, and Link leaned forward onto Rhett’s head, letting the tears run into his hair. 

“Please wake up, Link.” Rhett whispered. “We all miss you so much.” His own voice was strained, exhausted. “Please. Your wife needs you.” He sniffed. “I need you.” He swallowed. “I love you.” Rhett’s voice was barely a whisper, but it carried all the emotion of the world. “Please wake up, Link…”

Link continued to hear Rhett, but suddenly felt his body shifting. He didn’t remember closing his eyes, he didn’t remember the transition into sleep. He tried to move his arm, but it was stiff. He tried to move his foot, but it only gave a slight twitch. Link tried harder, his whole body feeling paralyzed. He shifted his head from side to side, but it didn’t seemed to be moving with him, his eyes wouldn’t open. He jerked and sputtered, trying to get his body to move. With one last jerk to the right, his eyes began to open.

Link heard the continued sounds of Rhett whispering first. He looked around, trying to move, but his head weighed a thousand pounds. It took an immense effort to shift his head to his left, where he could see Rhett holding his hand to his forehead, talking quietly. He blinked a couple of times and swallowed. There was an incredible soreness in his throat. It felt as if he’d been asleep a thousand hours and was waking from a wonderful dream he could barely remember. He swallowed again, and Rhett looked up. 

Rhett’s eyes widened with shock. He pressed Link’s hand to his face, and a smile broke out over his whole being. “Are you really - are you -” He gulped and closed his eyes a moment before opening them again, now tinged with tears. “Hi, Link.”

“Hi.” Link replied weakly. 

“Christy’s down in the cafeteria with my wife and both our kids.” Rhett said breathlessly, incredulously. “Oh my god.” He let out a hoot. “Oh my god!” 

“What… where are we?” Link found himself struggling to find the right words. He was also having trouble talking with the soreness in his throat. He reached up with his free hand, which still weighed a ton, and felt his face to find a feeding tube had been inserted. “I’m in a hospital?”

“You got hit by a truck, it just - it just totaled your car, man.” Rhett was smiling the biggest smile Link had ever seen on his face. “You’ve been here for two weeks.” 

“Oh.” Link’s eyes grew wide. “Wow.”

“Yeah. I should - I’m going to get a doctor.” Rhett set Link’s hand down, still smiling like he’d never smiled before. “I should probably get a doctor. Make sure you’re okay.” 

“Right.” Link said absently. “Okay.” 

“You just don’t go back to sleep buddy.” Rhett laughed again, a joyful, wonderous sound. “I think you’ve had enough sleep for a while.” He snapped his fingers at Link and let out another hoot before exiting the room.

Link smiled sleepily and looked around the room. There was a window to the right of him, through which he could see the sun was setting. He looked behind his head and saw that there were four different monitors, all making small, distinct sounds. He looked to his left and saw that there was a bedside table. On it was a vase full of flowers, and in front of the flowers was a standard envelope. Link reached out, stretching a little out of his bed, and picked up the envelope. He laid back and began to tear at the paper at the top to get to its contents. Inside was a piece of folded paper. Curious, Link unfolded it. In his youngest son’s handwriting were two words, written in black sharpie:

**WAKE UP.**

**Author's Note:**

> There's an old legend that says that certain people will go into a fantasy world when they experience a major trauma or distressing event. They will spend months in their fantasy world, not knowing that it isn't the real one. It's a defense mechanism. Only when they find a note telling them to WAKE UP will they begin to realize that what they think is real isn't reality at all, and that they need to WAKE UP and go back to reality.


End file.
